Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said there will be no contingency plans for North/South border arrangements in a worst case scenario because it is something they are not even contemplating.

“It is on an east-west basis,” Mr Varadkar stated firmly.

“We have done a lot of contingency planning but it has been largely desktop based planning up until this stage.

“The same is for the Netherlands and Belgium, other countries that are potentially most affected by a no deal scenario.

“So what we will need to do, in a couple of weeks’ time really, is to put some of that in the public domain and then begin to start those kinds of preparations.

“But again I want to emphasise this is the government applying a precautionary principle for a scenario we don’t think is going to happen.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar arrives to take part in the second day of the European Union leaders' summit, without Britain, to discuss Brexit and eurozone reforms on June 29, 2018 at the Europa building Brussels, Belgium. He is flanked by the Minister of State for European Affairs Helen Louise McEntee (Image: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)